The Birds of Prey
by Zenries
Summary: He was alone. Grew up in the streets. He had no recollection of his family. His mother died, he never knew his father, he had no other relatives. As far as he knew, he was just a kid on the streets, or was he? Watch Alexander Falkner as he joins with the 104th Trainee Corps to achieve his goal and uncover some mysteries surrounding himself. Rated T, may change to M in the future.
1. New Beginnings And The Enlistment

**A/N: This story kinda popped into my mind and I thought I could try and write it. S** **o I'm sorry in advanced if this is terrible,** **let's hope it's not a complete train wreck!**

 **Disclaimer! I do not own AOT, all rights goes to Hajime Isayama. I only own my OC.**

* * *

 _ **The Falkners, the birds of prey. A tribe of warriors that lived in the world prior to the walls and survived the Great Titan War along with the Ackermans, another family of warriors. The two families rivaled each other for years but all things come to an end, unfortunately...**_

 **3rd Person POV**

Trost District, 845

"Hey you brat! Get back here! That's stealing!"

"Sorry old man! But finders keepers!" A young boy yelled, he was around the age of 11. But what was most notable about the boy was his short white hair and yellow eyes. He was beyond what the normal kids looked like and tended to be looked at differently.

This was Alexander Falkner. Or as he prefers, Alex. He had currently stolen some food from a kiosk. He was born with an odd yet incredible amount of agility. He scaled the buildings and ran. He was the best at what he did, with the agility and stamina he had it made things easier.

"Looks like the coast is clear." He said, he had found a good spot on a rooftop to settle and eat.

"Hah! Nothing can catch the great Alex!" He praised himself and started eating.

He lived in the streets, he had no home. He had no one since 9. He was alone, yet he had an oddly charming personality despite everything he's been through...

He was born in the Undergrounds of Trost. A suburban city underneath Trost. His mother died due to an illness when he was 5. And he had to do things he'd later regret as he grew up just to survive. He stole to survive, and he even had to fight for his life. It was killed or be killed. The MPs in the area didn't even care.

He was forced to fight, to kill for what little they gave him. He was desperate like everyone else. To the MPs, he was a gladiator, used for their entertainment and earned very little for it. But it was better than nothing. He was made into a cold blooded killer at only 6. He didn't care for the other poor soul he had to fight, all he wanted was to live and that's what drove him.

Age 7, body count = 31

He was practically a champion, no one dared to cross the boy despite his age, they knew what he was capable of. He was nicknamed as the 'White Death' for his skill. It was inhuman, his skill with the art of killing was nothing to be messed with. People thought of him as a monster, he was born with unrelenting talent.

Many who watched fights as entertainment, mainly the MPs and the rich eventually put money down. It was a show in their eyes. But yet, young Alex earned very little. He was used for gambling.

At the age of 8 he had met a man, who'd take him in and teach him all he knew. He was old yet wise. The man was determined to make the boy live a normal life, and move him away from this hell. And soon, he was smuggled into the world above. Although, it was the last time he ever saw that man.

When he saw the world outside for the first time, it was breathtaking. The blue sky, the clouds, the birds, the sun. It wasn't so dim like it always was underground. When he first looked up to the sky, it brought the light back into his eyes. And from then on, he dreamed. For the first time in his life, he dreamed. The feeling of hope overwhelmed him.

He reach out his arm toward the sky.

 _'I... I want to touch the sky.'_ Was his first thought. Soon after, he climbed the tallest tree he could find, just so he could get higher.

With his inhuman agility he climbed until he reach the top. He was amazed at the sight. He yelled into the sky like Tarzan. He cried, he was happy. For the first time in his life he was truly happy. A man had found him and did everything he could for him to live a better life. He'd see him as a father figure. And now that he had reached to world above, he didn't think any of this was possible. He'd thought he'd be stuck underground for the rest of his life, fighting.

But every now and then, he'd get nightmares of the people he's killed, the things he did.

 _'It's been a long journey...'_ Alex thought as he ate. After finishing, he laid on his back and looked up to the sky in a relaxed position.

He started to close his eyes until he heard a large crowd and more noises follow. Today was oddly buzzing. It was unusually busy.

 _'Can't sleep with all that noise... I wonder what's going on.'_ Alex thought as he decided to check it out.

Timeskip

"What's with the crowd?" Alex thought out loud. Alex moved in closer to see what was going on. He had overhead a conversation between a couple of MPs.

"So it really is true, the Shiganshina district was over run by the titans." He heard a MP officer say.

"Damn, it really looks like they've seen and been through some tough shit." Another said.

"I heard that these are all that's left of that district."

"Hey, you don't think that the titans might come here and attack, would you?"

"I'd rather not think about that right now."

Alex heard enough, he proceeds to climb another house to overlook the refugees.

 _'Titans... I never thought something like this could happen.'_ Alex watched solemnly. He then took notice of three kids around his age, but thought nothing of it and left.

Timeskip

The night had arrived. Alex was currently running over rooftops to find a place to sleep, that was, until he stumbled across the three kids he saw earlier today, talking among each other. Slightly curious to what they were talking about, he eavesdrops in their conversation.

"I'm enlisting next year." Said the brunette boy.

The blonde boy next to him looked at him in confusion.

"I'll gain the power to fight Titans!" He said.

"Me, too." Said the blonde boy.

"Armin?" The brunette said.

"Me, too!" He said with resolve.

"I'll go, as well." Said the black haired girl with a soft spoken voice.

"Mikasa, you don't have to..." The brunette continued. "Didn't you say that it's important to survive?"

"That's right. So I'll go, to keep you from dying." The now named Mikasa, said.

The brunette stood up.

"Alright. The three of us." He said and the three looked amongst each other.

Alex had heard enough, he was tired, and so he moved to find a spot, but not before thinking.

 _'Enlist, huh... that... might actually be something I could do... and with those gears those soldiers have, I think I might actually have a chance to reach my goal...'_

Alex gave a small smile.

 _'Yeah... looks like I'm enlisting...'_ Was his final thought before sleeping.

* * *

Year, 847

"We now begin the enlistment ceremony for the 104th Trainee Corps! I am Keith Shadis, and I had the misfortune to be assigned to train you bastards. And I'm not here to welcome you at all! Right now, you're mere cattle, fit for nothing but Titan food! No, less than cattle... in three years, we'll take you worthless pieces of crap and train you! Give you the means to fight the Titans. In three years when you stand before a Titan, will you still be food? Or will you be a noble wall, shielding the King? Or perhaps, one of humanity's glorious soldiers that slay Titans? You will decide!" The drill instructor finishes.

Now about 13 years old, Alex gave a small smirk.

 _'Slayer of Titans? I like the sound of that.'_

 **Alex's POV**

"You there!" Our instructor yelled at a certain blonde haired boy.

"Yes sir!" He responds.

"Who the hell are you!"

"I'm Armin Alert from Shiganshina, sir!"

"That so? That's a stupid name. Your parents give you that?"

"My grandfather!" Armin said.

"Alert, what are you doing here?" The instructor asked.

"Trying to aid humanity's victory!"

"That is indeed wonderful... then you will feed the Titans." He said then he grabs Armin by the head. "Row 3, about face!" He turned Armin around.

The instructor walks up to people after people, yelling in their faces. I got some gist of the people who were yelled at.

Thomas Wagner  
Mina Karolina  
Samuel Linke-Jackson, what kind of name is that?

Many of my fellow cadets around me were nervous, I could feel it. But the very few of us kept a neutral face and stood still as a rock, myself included.

It seems the purpose of yelling at these guys were to straighten them up. Prepare them for the worse to come and get used to it. But for the unfortunate number of us, we've already been through unrelenting hell.

He then looked straight at me.

 _'I really don't want to do this today...'_

"And who are you?" He asked me.

"Alexander Falkner, from Trost." I calmly said.

"Your hair... is that really your natural hair color?"

"Yeah, it is. I get it from my mother."

"Hmmm." He seemed like he didn't believe me but what I said was true. "And what are you here for?"

"To join the Survey Corps." I plainly said.

I saw many of the cadets look at me, some surprised and some shocked. The instructor looked at me for some time, as if he was examining me.

"The Survey Corps, huh?" He spoke up, then he threw a punch straight to my face, but I caught it with slight ease.

Yet again, the cadets held a shock and surprised expression, but the very few of those were that Mikasa girl from back then, and a short blonde girl with a long nose who held a stoic expression the whole time.

Me and the instructor stared each other down. The tension between us caused many of the cadets to shudder in fear.

"Hmph. Your good. But that won't be enough when you go head to head against a Titan."

I released his hand from my grip and kept my stoic face.

"I don't you'll last even a second out there. It's like facing a highly experienced captain. You stand no chance."

He tried to get me to break but I wouldn't.

"Why don't you try me?" I said coldly.

"What was that?" The instructor gave me a glare.

"If you really believe that then why don't we throw down. Right here. Right now." I gave a small smirk.

His eyes narrowed then he turned away.

"You're something else, I'll be sure to be there when you break during training. Don't disappoint me." He said, walking away.

 _'I look forward to it.'_ I internally smirk.

He moved on, more yelling, new faces to learn.

Jean Kirschtein, he seemed very stuck up and looked like a horse if you ask me. Another thing to add, I was just as tall as him too.

Marco Bott, he seemed like a very genuine guy. I like him already.

Connie Springer

The instructor grabbed him by the head, lifting him off the ground, telling him he did his salute wrong.

As that was happening, I couldn't help but hear someone... eating?

I took a glance around to see a girl a few ways across from me, she had light brown eyes and reddish brown hair tied in a ponytail. She ate as if nothing was wrong.

Oh will she get a mouthful from the instructor when he sees you. It was then, he saw her. Everyone saw her.

"Hey, you..." The instructor walked up to her. "What are you doing?"

The girl continued eating, avoiding eye contact, as she hoped he wasn't talking to her but he was.

"You're the one I'm talking to! You!" He yelled in her face. "Who are you?!"

The girl quickly swallowed her food and saluted.

"Sasha Blouse, from Dauper village, Wall Rose South District!"

All those crumbs by her mouth makes it hard to take her seriously...

"Sasha Blouse, what are you holding in your right hand?"

"A boiled potato! The kitchen had a fresh batch, and I couldn't resist."

"Did you steal it? Why? Why would you choose to eat a potato now?"

"Letting it get cold would've been a waste, so I decided I should eat it now."

I internally smiled, I like her already.

"Well, I still don't understand... why would you eat that potato?" The instructor said.

"Are you asking me why people eat potatoes?"

Nearly everyone around looks at her and sweat drops with a confused or unbelievable expression, myself included.

The instructor stayed silent.

Sasha then holds her potato with two hands and rips it in half. She reached out to him with one hand, she was offering him half of the potato.

"You can have half..."

I couldn't believe what I saw. And I thought nothing could surprise me.

He grabs the potato half and looks at it.

"Half..." he said.

* * *

It was near after hours, the sun was setting and dinner was being prepped. I stood outside along with a few others.

Connie Springer  
Marco Bott  
Mina Karolina  
Armin Alert  
And Eren Yeager

"That potato girl still at it?" I said.

"Yeah, he still has her running." Connie said.

"Wow, five straight hours?" Eren said. "But she seemed more distraught when told she wouldn't get dinner than when told she must run until sun dropped."

"If I remember correctly, Dauper Villiage is a tiny hunting village deep in the mountains." Connie said.

We all continued to watch potato girl run until Eren pointed something out.

"What's that?" He asked.

"The dropouts." Mina said. There was a cart being pulled by a horse with people in it.

"They requested a transfer, to the frontier." She continued.

"What? But it's only the first day." Armin said.

"Fear can do that to a person." I commented.

"It was only a matter of time." Eren said. "If you aren't strong enough, you have to leave."

Everyone including me look back at Eren.

"Hard to believe they'd rather go back to weeding and picking up rocks." Eren said.

"I have to ask." Mina started to talk, it seemed like she was aiming a question at me and so I looked to her.

"Is that really your hair color?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's my natural hair color. Odd I know, but it really is my hair color." I responded.

"Sorry, I was just curious. I'm sure you get that question a lot." She said.

"Don't worry about it." I smiled, "I'm quite used to it honestly."

"And the way you stood up to the instructor! How did you keep your cool?" Connie asked. "Cause I sure would've broke. And not to mention catching that fist!"

"Well..." I trailed off, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "When you've been through the things I've had to go through, you might understand. It's... kinda hard to explain." I smiled sheepishly, "sorry."

"I think I get were your coming from." Eren said.

Marco then stands up from his leaning position over the rail.

"Hey, he didn't ask where you were from, did he?" Marco asked Eren.

"Shiganshina, the same as him." Eren responds, putting a hand on Armins shoulder.

"I see... that's..." Marco said.

"Then, weren't you there that day?" Connie finished his questions.

"H-Hey..." Marco turned to Connie.

"Did you see the Colossal Titan?" Connie asked.

"Y-Yeah..." Eren responds.

* * *

Dinner had come, everyone went into the nearest cabin and ate. I was currently seated next to Eren. And eventually, people had heard he was from Shiganshina and everyone crowed around us.

They started to ask him questions about that day. The Colossal Titan. How big it was, and what did it look like.

Someone eventually asked him about the regular Titans. But that question hit Eren like a train. He dropped his spoon into his soup and looked like he was about to throw up.

"I think that's enough questions for now." I stated. "He's clearly uncomfortable with answer anymore questions."

"I'm sorry for asking-" Connie was about to say but Eren had cut him off.

"Don't be!" Eren said then ate a piece of bread.

Eren began talking about the Titans and how they weren't so tough. And that training to master the 3D MG would bring their downfall.

But I could see that he was clearly lying. It seems that whatever he saw that day must've scarred him.

"I'm joining the Survey Corps, so I can wipe the Titans off the face of this Earth." Eren said.

 _'Admirable, but stupid at the same time. Can't wait to see where this kid goes.'_ I thought

"I'll kill them all-" Eren was interrupted.

"Hey, are you nuts?"

Eren looks over as do I, to see horse face, Jean Kirschtien.

"Did you just say you want to join the Survey Corps?" Jean said.

"Yeah, I did. And you said you wanted to join the Military Police to take it easy, right?" Eren said.

"I'm no liar... I'm a straight talker, unlike someone who pretends to have balls of steel, even when he's about to piss himself." Jean said.

"Are you talking to me?" Eren questioned, standing from his seat.

"D-Don't..." Marco tried to stop Eren but he already made his way to Jean as he also stood up to face Eren.

"I didn't..." Jean said and what seemed like a fight was about to go down, the bells rung which meant that dinner was over.

I was one of the first ones to get out, although I didn't eat much of my food. I carried some with me as I walked back to my barracks.

I had walked into my barracks and awaited those who'd be my roommates. A few minutes would pass before anyone came to the door, it revealed good old Marco and two other guys.

Both were fairly tall, one of which was absurdly taller and slim while the other guy was built like an ox.

"It looks like we're roommates from now on. I'm Alexander Falkner, but I prefer Alex, nice to meet ya!"

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Bertholdt Hoover." He said.

"Reiner Braun."

"I know we've already met, Alex, but I'm Marco Bott, nice to meet you all." He smiled.

Reiner hummed in agreement and Bertholdt gives a small smile while nodding.

I go and take a spot on the top bunk while Marco took the bed under me.

Before I went to sleep, Reiner asked me something.

"Alex... aren't you the guy that stood against the instructor?"

"Yep, that's me. And before the both of you ask, yes, this is my natural hair color."

Reiner chuckles. "You really are something else."

"Tell me about it." I responded with a smirk. "Welp, it's time I get to sleep. See you all in the morning." I yawned, laying onto the bed and slept. Getting ready for whatever is thrown at me tomorrow.

"Yeah. Time to hit the sheets." Reiner said. With that, everyone had gone to sleep.

* * *

 **Well that's the first chapter out of the way. And before I go, I wanted to get some things out of the way;**

 **Alex, my OC of this story will NOT be a Titan shifter, period.**

 **I've seen too many of those and I thought, why not make a self-insert that isn't a Titan shifter for once.**

 **As to his effect on the plot would be minor or major... he'll be slightly minor in the beginning, it isn't much later into the story were the manga is currently at now, will he play a highly major role. So there.**

 **Pairings...**

 **I wanted to keep this a single pairing so yeah, if you didn't see the character paring tab, its OCxSasha.**

 **Our little potato girl needs some attention, and I thought, why not pair Alex with Sasha? Mikasa is too overused (imo) and the others may not fit well with him.**


	2. The 104th

**Here's the next chapter of "The Birds of Prey"**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2 - The 104th**_

* * *

 **Alex's POV**

"First, we'll evaluate what you have! Anyone unable to do this can't even serve as a decoy! They will be sent to the frontier." Shadis told us.

Today we were being tested to see if we can stay in balance with the operating device before we could move onto the real deal. And one by one, cadet after cadet were sent up to the test and the majority of them seemed in balanced, some struggled but it seemed easy enough. With the exception of Mikasa of course, she was as steady as a rock.

I was going to be put up next. I walked up to the fancy contraption and they strap me in. And now begins the test, I was lifted up and kept a steady balance, as still as a rock. Then I got an idea. I smirked a little.

 _'Might as well have some fun.'_

I started to bounce around whilst keeping myself steady. I then started to some flips and tricks. Many of the cadets were struck with awe as they watched me. I could also slightly hear Reiner say something.

"Show off." He scoffed and I heard it, my smirk widens in response.

"Looks like we got a talented one over here." Said one of the trainers.

"Falkner!" I heard to voice of our instructor. And so I stopped doing tricks and kept my balance and still position like before.

"Yes sir?" I said.

"What do you think your doing?" He asked me.

"Um, having some fun?" I answered.

"Fun, huh? Well that's enough fun and games cadet! You've clearly shown that your capable, so let the next cadet waiting in line go next! We don't have all day!"

"Yes sir." I groaned and they took me off of the contraption. And as they did, I heard the instructor yell,

"What are you doing, Eren Yeager?!"

I looked over to the commotion and see that Eren was hanging upside down, his face seemed shell shocked. It seemed that he couldn't keep balance. Of all the people, it was Eren. There was else something going on, my gut told me that, but I couldn't lay my finger on it. I just left it for now and thought nothing of it.

* * *

I sat in one of the dinning halls and ate, I had decided to sit alone for today but within the next minute or so, Armin, Mikasa, and Eren showed up. Since they had no where to sit I thought they'll come over here, since I had a whole table to myself since no one wanted to sit next to me. I admit, the white hair and yellow eyes make me look intimidating sometimes, that, or its just that people don't want to hang around with a delinquent looking fellow.

I mean... I did kill a few people but that's not the point.

Armin, Mikasa, and Eren had arrived at my table as I predicted.

"Um, can we sit here?" Armin asked.

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind." I said.

"Thank you." Armin said.

"It's no problem." I beamed a small smile.

As they took their seats, Armin sat beside me, Mikasa and Eren sat across from us. I did notice that Eren had a bandage around his head, he must've tried to practice his balance earlier.

I simply paid no mind to anything, I put one of my arms over the table, placing the elbow down to the table whilst my chin was resting on my palm, with my other hand held a spoon, swirling it around the soup and occasionally ate. I admit, the food here was pretty awful so I occasionally 'took' some of the fresh batch of baked potatoes from the kitchen storage which were for the staff and superiors.

But that's my little secret.

The trio that sat next to me began conversing, Eren spaced out for a bit and I could've sworn he was blowing steam from his head until Mikasa snapped him back to reality.

"There's no point in worrying. You just have to figure it out tomorrow." Armin said.

"I'm pathetic... I'll never be able to kill them all like this." Eren said.

"You should let that idea go." Mikasa said. Both Armin and Eren look at Mikasa in shock.

"What?!" Eren said.

"You should give up on being a soldier. There are other ways to fight than by throwing away your life." She said.

"Listen here... I saw what happened that day! You really think you'll convince me this way?" Eren said.

"But it doesn't matter how much you want it." She said.

"Why not?" He said.

"It isn't your decision whether you end up as a soldier or not, Eren." She said, Eren flinched back at her words.

The bells rung which entailed dinner was over, everyone started to clean up and move to the barracks, including Eren and Armin but it seemed like Mikasa was a little to into it that she didn't notice everyone leaving, although I didn't leave, I was kinda in the middle of finishing up my food. Mikasa still continues talking as if Eren were still here.

"I'm not saying you should return to the frontier alone. Don't worry... I will go with you." Mikasa said as she turned to where Eren used to sit, only to find that Sasha was sitting there.

I was honestly spaced out too that I didn't even notice Sasha, and when I did notice, I was slightly startled and baffled at how she came to be here. An awkward silence came about between us since we were the only ones in the room.

"Um, anyway... So, can I take that?" Sasha pointed to Mikasa's piece of bread and asked. She looked at her for a second before picking it up as if she was going to hand it to her but she ended up eating it then walking away. Sasha seemed... disappointed, her facial expression dropped.

"Hey." I said to get her attention. "You can have mine." I said, holding out the piece of bread I never ate. Her face lit up like a christmas tree.

"Really!"

"Yea, I wasn't going to eat it anyways. So here." I gave her the food.

Seeing her face light up like that, I thought it was cute. Wait, cute? Where did that come from?

"Thank you!" She yelled in excitement. I beamed a smile in response and got up from my seat. I walked towards the exit but not before telling her something else.

"Oh, and if you need anything else, tsk, tsk... I'll hook you up." I told her and she understood what I meant so in response, she ran up to me and gave me a bear hug.

"Thank you, Kami-sama!"

And I did have to admit, her grip was really tight.

"Gah... Can't... Breath... Squeezing... Too hard..." I said as I could feel myself turning blue.

* * *

After that whole ordeal, I walked back to my barracks. But before I went back to the barracks, I decided to take a nightly stroll. As I did, I walked into the nearby forest. The cool breeze felt nice. I looked up into the night sky, it was simply beautiful.

I absent mindedly climbed the nearest tree to get higher. I found a branch at the top, stable enough to support my weight as I sat on the branch with my back against the base of the tree. The view from up here was amazing. I ended up stargazing for awhile, admiring the beautiful night sky. It's times like these, when I start to feel... human. Retaining most of the emotions an average human has.

And before I knew it, I started to feel tired. As I looked up into the sky, it made me feel oddly relaxed. Nothing else mattered to me anymore, it was like a wave of relaxation hit me. I felt connected to the sky for some reason. And that reason, I might never know.

Then everything went black. I fell asleep.

Morning came, somehow I didn't fall off the branch I slept on much to my surprise.

Shadis had then called everyone down to the ODM balancing test which Eren had yet to pass. Today, we gathered to watch if Eren could or could not do it. It was quite tense, if I do say so myself. Eren seemed a little nervous himself, I mean, his career as a soldier was on the line right now. Who wouldn't be?

And from what I heard, he and Armin had requested some help from Reiner and Bert.

Shadis stood in front of him. "Eren Yeager, are you ready?" He said.

"Yes!" Eren said, with determination written on his face.

"Begin!" Shadis ordered.

Eren was slowly lifted. Once he was put into position, he held a stance, as if he were actually using the gear. He was balanced, which impressed most of the cadets watching. But suddenly, he lost his balance and fell backwards. I took a glance at Shadis, and it seemed like he noticed something, so he walked up to Eren.

"I-I... I can still..."

"Let him down." Shadis said. Eren fell to his knees.

"I-I..."

"Sir, might I interrupt?" I suddenly said.

"What is it Falkner?"

"I believe that Eren has faulty equipment." I said shocking most of the cadets.

"Faulty you say?"

"Yes sir, but we won't know until we've tried."

Shadis looked at him and Eren for a few seconds before saying, "Wagner, switch belts with Yaeger"

"S-Sir." Thomas responds.

Everybody looked in confusion. Eren was once again lifted but this time, he kept a steady balance, barely struggling at all then he did before.

"You had defective equipment. The metal fixtures on your belt were damaged. Though, this is the first I've heard of faulty fixtures... It seems there's a need to start checking them during maintenance. Good eye, Falkner." Shadis said and I nod.

"Then that means he... manged to stay upright with faulty equipment for a bit..."

I heard one of the cadets say.

"Wow!" Another said.

"Th-Then what about my aptitude evaluation?" Eren asks.

"I see no issues." Shadis said. "Devote yourself to training."

Eren then threw both his hand over his head with excitement in his face.

"Looks like it worked somehow." Reiner said.

"His eyes are saying, 'How's that?'" Armin said.

"No." Mikasa states. "He's relieved that he won't have to be separated from me."

Armin, Reiner, and Bertolt look at her in confusion.

I doubt that's the case, but whose to say. I turn over to Eren again, slightly impressed, he showed a bit of promise. But we'll see when we get to the real deal.

Later that day, we were given the full set. Shadis took us into the forest. Everyone zooming past each other as they soar through the air. Everyone basically got it down.

As I flew through the sky, I could feel myself smiling... a smile of joy and excitement, something I've yet to feel until now... This was truly an experience to remember. I finally achieved my dream, I could finally reach the sky. The wind blowing as I soar through the air, feeling the adrenaline rush, it made me feel... happy, once again, I was happy.

I shouted into the air.

"WOOOOOOO HHHOOOOOO!"

* * *

 **Two Years After Enlisting, 849**

 **Third Person POV**

It was a rainy day. In the forest, the trainees had to tread through miles of mud and dirt as Shadis proctored them as he rode a horse.

"Too slow! Pick up the pace, you blockheads!" Shadis yells. "What's wrong, Alert? You're falling behind!" He went beside Armin.

Armin looked exhausted, he was far behind the others.

"Can't handle the weight? Should you alone be unburdened? If this were the real deal, you'd be meat for the Titans." Shadis said before returning to the other cadets.

"Hand it over." Reiner came beside Armin and took his stuff. "At this rate, you'll be joining the dropouts. Today's training is being graded."

"But if you do that, your score will get dropped too, Renier." Armin said.

"Make and effort not to get caught. Don't make me change my mind." Reiner replies.

Unknowingly, Shadis watches them and evaluates.

 _Reiner Braun - He has both a robust physique and mental strength. His comrades also have great trust in him._

"I'd rather die than be a burden!" Armin mutters. He catches up to Reiner and grabs his stuff back, rushing to keep up with the others.

 _Armin Alert - He lacks physical strength, but demonstrates prodigious aptitude in academics._

After running through that forest, everyone was now practicing against titan test dummies.

 _Annie Leonhart - Though her slashes are flawless, she's a lone wolf that has difficulty working with others._

 _Bertolt Hoover - He has exceedingly high potential, but lacks assertiveness._

 _Jean Kirstein - His three-dimensional maneuvers are top-class, but his hotheaded nature tends to cause discord._

Shadis continues watching from the tree branch.

"I'm no match for their slashing ability. I'll just have to spot the Titans first." Jean says to himself as he quickly maneuvers through the tree lines finding the next dummy. Jean finds one and smirks, but a voice breaks his focus.

"Thanks, Jean! Following you was a good call!" Said Connie as he came from above, ready to slash the dummy, but someone else steals it, leaving Connie in shock.

"I got it!" Said Sasha.

 _Sasha Blouse - Though she has unusually good instincts, her character is unsuited for cooperative action._

 _Connie Springer - He's skilled at handling tight turn maneuvers, but is somewhat dim-witted._

From another branch stood a pair of instructors lifting up the test dummies. "Here they come."

In came Mikasa and Eren. Mikasa sped ahead and slashed two dummies in front of her. Behind her, Eren follows but doesn't cut as deeply as her.

 _'Damn it. I couldn't cut as deeply as Mikasa again.'_ Eren thought.

Mikasa prepares to go for another pair of dummies but it was quickly and suddenly stolen by a certain white haired boy.

He dove down from above at high speeds hitting slashing his first target and quickly using his grapple from his gear to attach himself to the other target, he spins very fast, making his way to slash the target like a buzz saw.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Ackerman!" Alex yells and sticks his tongue out. Mikasa scowls in response.

 _Mikasa Ackerman - She's completely proficient in every aspect, deserving nothing less than an unprecedented evaluation of generations past._

 _Eren Yeager - He doesn't possess any particular talent, but he's improved his marks through pure effort. And he has an extraordinarily strong sense of purpose._

 _Alexander Falkner - Extremely agile, incredibly observant and inhumanly fast that not even Ackerman can catch up. Maneuvering and slashing techniques are unorthodox but prove to be efficient nonetheless. His playful attitude can get in the way, but other than that, he just might be runner up for humanity's strongest._

Chatter began on the field as people watched Alex swiftly deals with the dummies in quick precision.

"Man he's fast!"  
"What's that? Like his 30th target?"  
"That's just insane! No one's that fast!"  
"I've never seen anyone move like that before!"  
"Is he even human?"  
"Hey! Leave some for the rest us!"

Alex couldn't help but smirk.

With that, Shadis ends his evaluation and proceeds to the next thing on the list.

It was midday, Shadis had the cadets train in hand to hand combat with one another. Each cadet were to find and pick a partner to spar with. It was until then, Shadis noticed something.

"Where is Falkner!?" He yells, getting everyone's attention and no one knew where he was. "Blouse!"

"Yes sir!" Sasha responds.

"Go find him."

"W-What? B-But he could be anywhere."

"Then start looking!"

"U-Uh..."

"I won't say this again. GO! FIND! HIM!"

"Y-Yes sir!" She squeals and starts to run off, but not before Reiner could stop her.

"Before you go, I saw him head over there earlier." Reiner whispers and points to the forest. Sasha nods.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Sasha enters the forest.

"Alex? Alex!" She searches through the forest. "Where could he-"

"You called?" A voice interrupts her.

"Eep!" She squeals she turns around and is met with the white haired boy himself. "Y-You scared me! H-How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" He tilts his head.

"Appear outta nowhere!"

"I was just up there." He points upwards to a branch. "So, what did you want?"

"Shadis told me to come find you, we're sparring right now."

"Sparring huh? I guess I'll come back." Alex stretches. "Just taking a power nap... although, it might be a little pointless if I went back."

"Why do you say that?" Sasha questions.

"People seem to... avoid me, like I'm the plague. Maybe it's just my looks. People probably think I'm a delinquent or something. I do admit my looks make me pretty... unapproachable and intimidating, never made any friends back then, even now, but maybe with a few exceptions." He frowns.

"Well, I don't think that." Sasha says.

"?" Alex looks at her.

"I think you're a really nice and friendly guy. I admit, you're looks made me intimidated at first, but once I got to know you a little more, I was really surprised. Regarding your looks... I-I uh... think i-i-it makes you unique a-and h-h-handsome." She stutters with a blush on her face.

"I uh... *chuckles* thanks." He sheepishly responds with some heat rushing to his face but brushed it off.

 _'This feeling...'_ He thought.

"You're not bad yourself, potato girl." He gives a closed eyed smile, it was a genuine smile. Not his fake ones he put on for show.

 _'...It feels... warm...'_

"A-Anyway, w-we should head back. B-Before Shadis makes us run till sundown." She says.

Alex chuckles. "Right on."

Night came quickly. Everyone got to the dinner house and ate like usual.

"Though there's nothing to lose by just keeping that in mind." Jean said out loud. "Especially if you want to enlist in the Military Police Brigade."

"Yeah, it'd be nice if I could." Marco said. "There's no greater honor than to be able to work under the king."

"Hey, Marco." Jean slaps his head. "Quit lying to yourself and just say what you really think. I know you want to enlist in the Military Police Brigade so you can earn a safe and pleasant life within the inner walls." Jean gives a devilish smile.

"No way." Marco says. "At least, I'm-"

"It's pleasant within the inner walls?" A voice interrupts them. Jean and Marco look over to see it came from Eren.

"Five years ago, this was also part of that area, you know." Eren said.

"What are you getting at, Eren?" Jean questions.

"Jean, I think the inside of your head is plenty pleasant no matter where you are." Eren responds making Jean's eye twitch in annoyance. People around chuckle.

"Why you..." Jean starts.

"Don't you think it's strange? How we're honing our skills to kill the Titans in order to get away from them, that is." Eren says.

"Why bring that up now?" Jean asks."For my sake too, this inane plane should be maintained."

Eren gets angry and stands up from his seat. "You piece of garbage!" He yells.

"Shut up! Just face reality!" Jean does the same.

They walked toward each other.

"Eren, calm yourself!" Armin says.

Eren graps Jean by his shirt.

"Stop it." Mikasa says, putting Eren's hand away from Jean's shirt. But suddenly Jean grabs his shirt aggressively.

"Don't screw with me, you bastard!" Jean shouts.

"Let go! You'll tear my shirt!"

"Who gives a damn about your clothes! I'm so jealous!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?!"

They spat at each other until they were both suddenly pushed and pinned down to the ground by a certain white haired boy.

"Cut it out, the both of you." He says in a serious and cold voice. It sent chills in their spins. "Don't do anything rash or you might regret it." For a split second, he released a small amount of bloodlust that was only detected by a certain few, many froze in fear, especially Jean and Eren. After that, he releases them, Eren stood while Jean was on his knees.

"You two will settle whatever is going on in a less... violent way, cause I really don't want to get involved." Alex says before sitting down.

"Why are you so impudent on degrading me? What's your point?" Jean says.

"You think kicking back and doing whatever you want is reality? Can you still call yourself a soldier?"

For a while, it stayed quiet. Until the doors open revealing a slightly angered Shadis.

"I heard a loud noise a moment ago... Anyone care yo explain?" He asks as Jean and Eren go back to their seats.

Mikasa raises her hand and speaks.

"It was the sound of Sasha farting."

A look of shock came before Sasha.

"So it was you again." Shadis says. "Learn some modesty." He says before leaving.

Nearly everyone around was holding in their laughter. Alex included.

* * *

 **Year, 850**

And so, 218 trainees made it to graduation. It was the night of graduation. Every cadet that was still around had attended. A selected 10 cadets stood in the up most front row. Right in front of the superiors.

"Offer your lives!" A commanding officer said.

"Yes sir!" The cadets yell in unison.

"From this day forth, all of you who have graduated from begin trainees have three options. Firstly, the Garrison, which is responsible for wall fortification an defending the towns. Secondly, the Survey Corps, which resolutely ventures outside the wall into Titan territory. And lastly, the Military Police Brigade, which governs the citizens and maintains order. Of course, only those that we previously announced to be ranked amongst the top ten trainees can select the third option! And now to announce the top ten cadets! They are as follows;

10th, Sasha Blouse!

9th, Connie Springer!

8th, Marco Bott!

7th, Jean Kirschtein!

6th, Eren Yeager!

5th, Annie Leonhart!

4th, Bertolt Hoover!

3rd, Reiner Braun!

2nd, Mikasa Ackerman!

And in first place, Alexander Falkner!

You ten are the top of your class and have the option to join the Military Police Brigade!"

Alex smirks to himself.

 _'I finally made it. And to think I'm the top of my class, number one no less, I really didn't expect this. Not at all... well then, it's time to move on.'_

A celebration party was held that night.

"I did it! Now I can enlist in the Military Police Brigade!" Connie says.

"Food will never be a concern ever again!" Sasha says.

Sitting at a table, Jean talks to himself. "Why was I ranked below Eren? Damn it!"

A little ways away stood Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Alex.

"Are you seriously passing up the Military Police Brigade, Eren?" Thomas says.

"But you're one of just ten people allowed to enlist." Samuel said.

"It's what I planned to do all along." Eren says. He continues. "I haven't been training to live within the inner walls. My goal is to fight the Titans, after all."

"You can't win!" Thomas shouts getting the attention of everyone in the room. "You know too, right? About the tens of thousands of victims. The answer was obvious after over twenty percent of the population was lost. Mankind can't win against the Titans."

"If he want's to join the Scouts then let him, it's his choice, and besides, I'm joining the Scouts too." Alex comes in surprising Eren.

"You too?! But you're the top of our class!" Thomas said.

"Is it that much of a surprise? I mean, that's why I'm here in the first place. Joining the Scouts was my intention from the very get-go and I don't intend to change that." Alex explains.

"But it's just pointless to throw away the opportunity of a safe haven!" Thomas says before everything goes quiet for a moment until Eren speaks up.

"So.. Are you giving up because you think you can't win?" Eren said.

"Well..." Thomas starts.

"True, up until now, it's been a losing battle for mankind. But that's because we didn't know much about the Titans! A battle of resources against the Titans is pointless. Although we lost, the information we obtained through fighting will surely bring hope! Are we going to abandon the tactical advances gained through tend of thousands of sacrifices and quietly wait for the Titans to devour us all? You've got to be kidding me! I'll exterminate every last Titan and escape these confining walls! That's my dream. Mankind hasn't truly been defeated just yet!" Eren's sudden speech silenced everyone, there were tears about to break through Eren's eyes and before anything else, he runs off with Armin and Mikasa following.

 _'If that's how you feel, go wherever the hell you want! I'm enlisting in the Military Police Brigade for sure.'_ Jean thought.

Outside, Eren is found sitting on stone steps, wiping the tears in his eyes. He looks back to see Armin and Mikasa as they sat next to him.

"Eren, what's that dream you mentioned earlier?" Armin asked.

"Oh, it's what you told me about. Going outside instead of staying here." Eren said.

"I'll enlist in the Survey Corps." Armin said surprising Eren.

"Armin, are you sure? You're the best at academic courses, so go with that!" Eren said.

"I'd rather die than become a burden." Armin shoots back.

"I'll choose the Survey Corps too." Mikasa said.

"Come on, you're one of the best of our class. Go with the Military Police Brigade!" Eren said.

"If you enlist in the Military Police Brigade, so will I. If you enlist in the Garrison, I'll do the same. If you're not together with me, you'll die early, after all." Mikasa says.

"I never asked you to protect me." Eren said.

"I don't want to lose any more of my family."

Eren sat their speechless until they all heard chuckling.

"You guys are an interesting bunch."

They turn to the familiar voice.

"Alex!" Eren says.

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"What are you doing here?" Armin asks.

"Thought I could use some fresh air, then I couldn't help but overhear you guys."

"You said you were joining the Scouts earlier right?" Eren asked.

"Right o."

"But why? You're the top of our class."

"Let's just say that... the Survey Corps floats my boat. Never really was into the whole kicking back and doing nothing. And besides the fact, I've had some... bad experiences with the Military Police way back when. Just brings back a lot of... bad memories. But regarding that speech earlier, I have to say, it was something else." He smiles.

Eren rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "I-It was nothing, really."

"You know, it kinda reminded me of something that someone once told me before."

"What's that?" Eren asks.

"Things don't end in failure or death, it ends when they lose faith."

This left the trio speechless.

Alex then turns around.

"Well, I gotta head out. Getting a very tired, see you guys later." He walks off leaving them at that.

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

Lots of people gathered out on the main street for a certain event.

"It's the main force of the Survey Corps!"  
"Commander Erwin, please give those Titans a good beating for us!"  
"Look! It's Lance Corporal Levi!"  
"They say he's as strong as an entire brigade!"

Many of the citizens chatter.

From the rooftops, Alex watched.

"So those guys are the Survey Corps, huh? An interesting bunch might I say..." Alex said aloud. He then smirks. "Joining the Survey Corps might be a lot more exciting after all."

A few hours later, we find Alex and a bunch of his class mates on top of the walls, stationed for cannon maintenance and lookout.

It was quiet until Eren broke the silence.

"What? You're going with the Survey Corps? Connie, you seemed so excited to join the Military Police Brigade though."

"Yeah I was. But..." Connie says until Mina speaks up.

"Seems like your speech from yesterday got through to him." She said.

"Shut up! It's a decision I made for myself." Connie said with a slightly embarrassed look.

"Don't get so flustered." Thomas said. "You're not the only one."

"Thomas... are you..." Eren starts.

"Um, guys..." Sasha says getting everyone's attention. "I took some meat from the officers' food storage."

Everyone looks at her in shock.

"Sasha, are you trying to get thrown into an isolation cell?!" Eren said.

"So you really are an idiot." Samuel said.

"She's not the only one." Another voice came in. They all turn to see Alex next to a wooden crate, he opens it as dozens of freshly backed potatoes are seen.

"H-How did you manage to take a whole crates worth without getting caught?!" Connie yells.

Alex puts a finger to his lips. "That's my little secret. And if you don't want a broken bone, then I suggest you keep quiet, okay?" He says, with a menacing, closed eyed smile as everyone shudders in response.

"The gods have blessed us!" Sasha yells as she envelops Alex in a tight hug.

"Sasha... need... air..." Alex croaked out.

"Is this some kind of match made in heaven or... hell...?" Thomas comments.

"Who knows..." Samuel said.

"You guys need to put it back!" Connie said.

"Yeah, especially since meat has become extremely valuable because of all the land we lost." Mina said.

"It'll be fine." Sasha and Alex said in unison with a smile on their faces.

"They're even in sync..." Thomas said.

A small silence broke out until Samuel spoke.

"I'll eat some of that meat!"

"S-Same here, so hold onto it." Connie said.

"Of course, that goes for me too." Mina said, everyone starts to join in. Eren had a shocked expression.

"Now that's the spirit!" Alex said.

"You guys..." Eren starts.

"What're you spacing out for, Eren?" Samuel said. "If we don't back to work, they'll catch us."

Everyone starts goes back to work.

"We've still got a while until lunch." Mina walks off.

Eren then smiles. Turning to the city before him, he thought.

 _'It's been five years since then. Humanity is finally regaining its dignity. We can win. Mankind's retaliation... begins now!'_

Everything seemed to shape up until... a quick flash of lighting and a giant head appears out of nowhere. It's the Colossal Titan. Everyone freezes in shock until a gush of air begins to push everyone off the ledge of the wall.

Eren calls out to everyone to switch to the vertical maneuvering and everyone begins to latch onto the wall to stop their fall but Samuel was responding.

"Samuel!" Connie shouts.

Without a second sooner, Alex came diving towards Samuel at high speeds, quickly catching Samuel before he could hit the ground and latching back onto the wall with Samuel in his arms.

"I got him! He's okay!" Alex yells.

"That was close." Eren says. He scouts the area until he finds something shocking, as does the others.

"The wall..." Thomas starts. "Was destroyed."

There was a big hole in the wall where the gate used to be.

"Again... The Titans are going to get inside again!" Connie said.

Eren stares in shock as he gets flashbacks of that day five years ago.

"Not sparing... a single one..." Eren grits his teeth. "4th Fixed Cannon Maintenance Squad, prepare for battle!" Eren said, unsheathing his swords. "The target's right before us! It's the Colossus Titan! This is our chance! Don't let it get away!"

Eren uses his gear to get back on top of the wall. Eren had now came face to face with the Colossal Titan after five years...

* * *

 **To be continued...**

 **Well, there you have it, hope you guys enjoyed this one.**

 **I'll give you guys an overview of Alex's stats;**

 **Age; 16**

 **Combat: 10/10**

 **[Unique skill] Speed, Agility & Observation: 11/10**

 **Mobility: 10/10**

 **Strategy: 5/10**

 **Teamwork: 5/10**

 **That does it for this chapter, till next time!**

 **Reviews are appreciated and any questions you'd like to ask feel free to comment.**


	3. The First Battle, Attack on Trost Part 1

**Hey there! Welcome to the next chapter of 'The Birds of Prey', hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3 - The First Battle, Attack on Trost: Part 1**_

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

The Colossal Titan has finally appeared once again.

As Eren gets back to the top of the wall, the Colossal Titan starts to swing it's arm across the top of wall. Eren leaps to avoid the swing and shoots a grappling hook into the outstretched arm and begins to run up towards the head. Eren starts to realize something.

 _'He went for the artillery and the gate, it's no coincidence... he's... intelligent!'_

Eren leaps off the shoot his hook into the shoulder of the Titan and begins closing in. The only thing he needs to do is slice the nape of the Titan, the one weakness of the Titans. As he gets closer to the neck he is suddenly blasted back by a gush of hot air.

"Hot!"

As he was being pushed back, his hook was still connected but was barely holding on, he then reels himself closer to attack but suddenly, the Colossal Titan disappears, vanishes into thin air. Eren gets back on top of the wall where he regroups with the others. Those being; Alex, Connie, and Thomas.

"Eren! Did you get it?" Thomas said.

"No! It's the same as five years ago! He disappeared, just as suddenly as he appeared. I'm sorry. I let him get away."

"What are you apologizing for?" Thomas asked. "We couldn't even move-"

"Yap, yap. Does it really matter? I mean, guys, we've got a bigger problem here! Hole in the wall, remember?!" Alex interrupts.

"If we don't fix it quickly, the Titans will get in again!" Connie said.

"What are you waiting for?!" Said a voice of a senior soldier. "The strategy for handling a Colossal Titan's appearance is already in motion! Return to HQ immediately! Anyone who had contact with it, report every detail!"

Alex, Eren, Connie, and Thomas saluted.

"Yes sir!" Eren said.

"I pray for your success!" Connie said.

The towns bell begins to ring, alerting everyone to evacuate. This was just like five years ago. In another section of the town, part of the Garrison begins getting ready at the entrance to hold any Titans that try to get in. The commanding officer begins to rally everyone, splitting them into different groups, protecting parts of the town.

"Just like in the training,, split up into your individual squads. You will be under Garrison command. Your duties are to assist in providing supplies, communications, and sweeping up the Titans! The first line of defense will be the frontline unit of the Garrison! The second line will be the cadet squad under our command! The rearguard will be the Garrison's elite units! We've already received word that the vanguard has been annihilated! The outer gate was destroyed, and Titans have encroached upon the city! This means that the Armored Titan might show up any moment to breach the inner gate!"

Chatter amongst the soldiers began.

"That's..."  
"No way..."  
"If even Rose falls..."

"Silence!" The commanding officer yells. "The frontline guards are already in combat! There is but one goal in this defensive operation: Defend Wall Rose until every civilian has evacuated! Also, in case you forgot, let me remind you that desertion is a capital offense! Vow on your hearts to devote your lives! Dismissed!"

They all salute. "Yes sir!"

Everyone scattered around to their place, many started to freak out.

Alex stood their for a moment, remembering the incident on the wall.

 _'So... that was the Colossal Titan...'_ He thought, remember what it looked like. He was currently stationed for the elite units in the rearguard so he made his way, but not before he saw Mikasa and Eren talking.

"Eren! If the battle gets too chaotic, come find me." She said.

"Huh? We're in totally different squads!" Eren said.

"In the midst of the fray, nothing goes according to plan. I'll protect you."

"What are you going on abo-" Eren was cut off when a commanding officer called for Mikasa.

"Cadet Ackerman! You were specially assigned to to the rear guard. Come with me." He said.

"I'd only be in the way there, sir!" She tried to reason.

"I didn't ask for your opinion. The evacuation is going slow. We need as many elite guards as possible protection the civilians."

"But I-" She was cut off when Eren knocks her in the head.

"Get real, Mikasa! It's so unlike you to panic! Mankind is on the brink of extinction! No one gives a fuck about what you want!" Eren said.

"Sheesh, a little much, don't you think, Eren?" Said another voice. Eren turns.

"Alex?" He said.

"But, he's right Mikasa. Everything is at stake here, don't let your selfish desires get in the way. It'll only cause more problems." Alex said.

Mikasa stays silent for a bit. "I'm sorry. I lost my head."

Eren begins to leave but Mikasa grabs a hold of his sleeve.

"Just one thing. Please. Please... Don't die." She says then Eren walks away.

 _'I won't die. I couldn't die even if I were killed here.'_ Eren thought.

Alex watches Eren walk away before speaking again.

"Come on Mikasa, let's get going. We're on the clock right now."

Mikasa doesn't say anything, she just walks to the rear guard station. Alex sighs.

 ** _'Why do you work for them...?'_ ** A voice, deep within Alex's head said. Alex whips his head around to find the source of the voice that he heard.

"I must be going crazy..." With that, Alex makes his way to the elite unit.

 **With Eren, Third Person POV**

Eren remembers back in class there were reports from the Survey Corps that show the Titans, that even though they are giant humanoid creatures, they do not seem to be intelligent. They have a disregard for all forms of life and they just seem to want to eat humans.

Humans have developed weapons that could blow off a Titans head but they can regenerate within minutes. However, it seems the only way to kill a Titan is to slice a chunk, from the back of their necks as it seems to stop the regeneration. In that class he remembers that the teacher shows that using the vertical maneuvering equipment that the military uses, they can get around the Titans, with a thin razor blade sword to cut off that thick flesh on their necks.

Back to the present, Eren stands on a building with his squad mates.

"Hey Armin." Eren said, getting his attention. "Don't you think this is a great chance? If we prove ourselves here in this first battle, before even entering the Survey Corps, surely they'll promote us right up the ladder!" Eren smiles. Armin smiles in response.

"Yeah! Without a doubt!" Armin said.

"Not to burst your bubble, but quite a few of us are aiming for the Survey Corps this year!" Mina said.

"I lagged behind you earlier, Eren, but I'm not losing this time!" Thomas said.

"That's the spirit, Thomas!" Eren said.

"Let's have a contest to see who can slay more Titans!" Thomas smirks.

"No fudging your numbers!" Eren said.

"Squad 34, advance! Assist the frontline guard!" Said a commanding officer.

"Alright! Let's go!" Eren shouts.

"Yeah!" They all replied in unison.

With their moral boosts up, they begin their attack against the Titans. Soaring across the air, swinging from rooftop to rooftop.

They then begin to see the Titans making their way in, but before they could start a plan, a Titan charges forward, knocking them all senseless in mid air. Everyone recovers, but they look up to see Thomas, hanging from the inside of the Titans mouth. Before anyone can respond, the Titan swallows Thomas whole.

Eren calls out, "You motherfuckers!" And in a fit of rage, he rushes in to avenge his friend.

The others protest his action.

"Eren!"

"Stop! Don't go in alone!"

They all follow Eren's lead.

"You're not getting away!" Eren shouts but then, another one of his squad members calls out.

"There's another one!"

Jumping in from underneath Eren, he manages to dodge but the leaping Titan was able to bite off a part of Eren's leg. he crashes into the rooftops, bleeding.

"Eren!" Armin calls out but more Titans begins to close in on the group. Everyone scatters to get away, but to no avail.

Armin was on the rooftops, he couldn't do anything. He sits back watching the horror. One by one, the squad is being caught, grabbed, and eaten alive.

 _'Why... am I... watching... as my comrades... get eaten?'_ Armin questions himself. Another Titan comes in from behind Armin, he can't move, he can't act, his body won't respond. The Titan holds him above his head, ready to drop Armin into his mouth.

Eren crawls up calling out to Armin, "Armin..." He croaks out, remembering a time when they were kids, talking about exploring the world. It can't end like this, so with whatever strength Eren had left, he jumps into the mouth of the Titan to grab Armin's hand and throw him out.

"Eren!" Armin tries to call back to him as Eren tries to hold open the Titans mouth.

Eren yells out. "You think I'm gonna die here?! Hey, Armin... You told me about it... So I'm going... to the outside world..." He reaches a hand out.

"Eren! Hurry!" Armin screams out for Eren, trying to reach out and grab his hand but... it was too late. The Titan snapped down on Eren, only leaving his arm to fall out.

Armin screams out of horror. Seeing his best friend getting eaten alive right in front of him, tears streamed down his face with the look of terror.

 **With Alex, Third Person POV**

There were lots of them. Alex and his assigned squad were to hold down the line between the evacuees and the Titans up in the left hand section of the town. But, there was just one problem... he was the only one left.

The Titans began funneling in, it was too much too handle. If he failed to hold out, it meant hundreds of lives were at stake. Alex then got an idea. Unsheathing his blades. He checks to see his gas level, it was just enough for him at least.

"Tch..." Alex turns to the horde of Titans. "...Damn it all to hell."

He rushes off to the first Titan he spots. He exhales.

 _'Remember your training Alex...'_ He thought to himself.

Within a few seconds he cut down his first Titan with ease. Landing on the rooftop, he looks down to his hand which was bloodied with Titan blood and began to evaporate.

 _'My first... Titan kill...'_ Alex thought. _'That was... easy... almost felt similar to... my days underground...'_ Then he started to feel a sharp pain in his head, _'Wha-!'_ He loses consciousness.

'He' awoke. 'He' felt a rush of adrenaline, 'his' heart was beating quickly. The rush excited 'him'.

 ** _'I'm...'_**

'His' pupils dilate, 'his' grip on 'his' blade handles tighten, 'he' rushes toward the mob.

 ** _'...Back!'_**

'He' leaped into the horde with a maniacal smirk.

 **"IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK BABY!"**

 **With Armin, Third Person POV**

Armin sat their on the building in a state of shock. When Connie and another squad came. Connie calls out to Armin but he wasn't responding. Armin the finally snaps out of it then Connie asks.

"What in the world happened?"

Armin then starts to remember, he freaks out.

"AAAHHH! I'm dead weight! I should just die!"

"Hey, calm down, Armin!" Connie tries.

"Damn it!"

"Where's everyone?" Connie asked as Armin freezes.

"That's enough, Connie." Yimir spoke. "They're all dead. Minus this guy."

"Shut up!" Connie yells. "Armin hasn't said anything yet!"

"Isn't it obvious from just looking around? We don't have any more time to waste on him."

"Why is Armin the only survivor?"

"Hell if I know. Maybe they thought he was a corpse. While I think it's unfortunate they ran into a swarm of Titans, the fact that Eren and the others died while this incompetent survived is ridiculous."

"Hey, you bitch. Want me to shut you up for good?!"

It was then Krista came in telling them, "Stop it, both of you! I'm sure we're all just shaken up. A bunch of our friends are suddenly dying, after all! It's only natural!"

Yimir then put an arm around Krista. "That's my Krista! Marry me once this operation is over!"

"True, she's screwing around more than usual." Connie said, he then turned to Armin. "Anyway, we can't just sit around here." Connie brings his hand out. "Can you stand, Armin?"

Armin then stands up. "I'm sorry, for being a burden." He walks off. "I'll go join the rear guard."

"H-Hey. Armin!" Connie calls but Armin dashes away.

 **Evacuation Gate**

Over at the evacuation gate, some of the townspeople begin to fight due to a merchant, trying to push his stuff through the gate and getting it stuck. The merchant man screams at the other people to help him push his stuff in and telling them that the cargo is worth more than their lives. So if they want to pass, they need to help him push it through.

But it doesn't take long before a Titan appears, spotting them and beginning to charge in. The civilians panic.

Following behind that Titan are a few soldiers, but they can't seem to catch it's attention.

"Damn, why is it ignoring us?!"

"It's an Abnormal! Don't think too much about it!"

"It's fast! Even we elites can't catch up to it?!"

"At this rate..."

The soldiers lag behind the Titan, trying to catch it, but it's not until one certain soldier flies through them, moving towards the Abnormal. It's Mikasa. She flies in, killing the Titan with ease.

Mikasa goes down to the gate to see why the evacuation is taking so long. Standing on top of the Titan she just killed, she asks. "What... are you doing?"

"Oh, perfect timing. Hey you, make these people help me out! I'll reward you handsomely!" The merchant explains, shocking Mikasa.

"My comrades are dying right now. Because the evacuation is lagging, they're fighting the Titans and dying." Mikasa says.

"Course they are! It's your duty to offer your lives to protect citizens and their property, is it not?! Don't get full of yourselves just because you freeloaders are finally doing your job after a hundred years!"

Mikasa's expression turned stoic. She jumped off the caucus of the Titan and made her way towards the merchant man.

"If you think it's natural for people to die for others, I'm sure you'll understand that at times, the sacrifice of a single precious life can save many others."

"Just try me! I've known your employer for many years. You don't know how easy it'd be for me to order you underlings around!"

The merchant man's bodyguards rush toward Mikasa, but are knocked away by her swords. She closes in on the merchant. Staring him straight in the eyes.

"How can a corpse be speaking?" She taunts, lifting her sword.

"Wait!"

Mikasa points her sword right at him.

"Move the wagon." The merchant decides to let everyone through.

Then, a little girl thanks Mikasa. "Thank you!"

"We're saved thanks to you." The girl's mother said. "Thank you so much."

Mikasa sheathes her blades and gives them a salute and walked away. Thinking back to the girl who just thanked her, it reminds Mikasa of herself when she was little.

Her parents were killed and she was taken away. Eren had went with his father to meet with Mikasa's parents for a visit, and that's when they both found her parents dead and her missing. Eren went looking for her, finding the men who took her. He ended up killing two of them in the room with her, but when he decided to check on her, she told him that there was a third man. That man came running out, grabbed Eren and started chocking him.

Eren told her that if she wants to live she has to fight! She looked down and grabbed Eren's knife. But she couldn't move, she was scared, unable to react. And then she finally realized, that this world, is cruel. And that instance, she stops shaking and she saw clearly what she had to do. And she lunged forward with the knife.

After the guards came, Mikasa asks where she should go next. It's cold but she doesn't have a home anymore. Eren took off his scarf and wrapped it around Mikasa. Doctor Yeager tells her that she can come live with them now. And that's when Eren tugs at her arm telling her to hurry up, it's time to go home, to their house.

Back in the present time, Mikasa jets into a Titan, cutting it's nape. She remembers the moral of it all.

 _'The world is cruel... and only the winners survive.'_

After she cuts through the Titans neck, she stands on the top of the building, looking over everything in her vicinity.

And finally, the town's bell rang, signaling that the gates have been locked so the squads need to refuel and scale the walls. Mikasa meets back up with her squad and thinks to herself...

 _'I have a place to return to in this world. Eren, if you're here, I can do anything.'_

She climbs the roof of a building, noticing a group of soldiers were on top of another roof.

 _'They should've heard the bells that signaled for retreat. Why aren't they climbing the wall yet?'_ She thought. She realizes, any of them had ran out of gas, and if so, where were the supply runners? She then looks over to the building where the gas was kept, her eyes then widen in shock. The building was surrounded by a large horde of Titans.

Over with Connie and his group, he tries to ask for a plan of action.

"Hey, Jean! What do we do now?" He asks Jean who sat with a horrified and defeated look.

"What can we do? We finally received the order to retreat, but we can't get over the wall because we're out of gas. We're all going to die. Thanks to those fucking cowards..." Jean said.

"You mean the support squad? What happened to them? Are they all dead?" Connie said.

"They probably lost their will to fight. I understand how they feel. But I doubt they've abandoned their mission and barricaded themselves away in the HQ. I'm guessing the Titans have them surrounded, which is why they can't supply us with gas." Jean says.

"That's exactly why we have no choice but to go all in on these Titans! Sitting here and waiting to die isn't going to make a difference! The Titans are going to surround us too! If we keep running away from them, we'd just end up wasting the little gas we have left. Once we lose our agility, it'd really be over!" Connie says.

"I never thought I'd hear you make an intelligent comment, Connie. But how do you propose we do that with the forces we have left? The vanguard has nearly been wiped out. Moreover, which one of us cadets could possibly take command of such an operation? Not that we could do anything about the Titans even if someone took command. The gas storage is probably crawling with 3-4 meter class Titans by now. And of course, we can't fight them inside the storage."

"So it's hopeless?"

Jean sighs. "I had such a boring life. If someone told me beforehand... tch, for once, I really wish Alex was here..." Jean mutters the last part.

"Let's do it!" Said Sasha. "Stand up! If we all work together, we can do it! I'll be in front!" She said, but was met with silence. Everyone was too scared. She looks down but then spots Armin. Walking over to him, she spoke.

"Armin! Let's go together and-" She cut herself off as she saw the expression in his face. She quietly sighs.

Over with Reiner and his team, they began to talk.

"What now, Reiner?" Annie asks.

"It's not time yet. We must group up first." He responds.

"It's over..." Said Marco. "No matter what we do, we'll be dead before we make it out here. I mean, I'm prepared to die... but what exactly am I going to die for?" Marco looks up to the skies.

Mikasa had come and she runs to Annie.

"Annie!" Mikasa says getting her attention. "I think I understand the situation. And I apologize for bothering you, but have you seen Eren's unit?" She asks.

"No, and I haven't seen anyone climbed the wall either." Annie said.

"Armin's over there, though." Reiner points to the direction of Armin.

Mikasa makes her way toward Armin. "Armin!" She calls out.

Armin's eyes widen. _'Mikasa?! Crap! How can I look her in the face? I don't even deserve to be alive. If I knew it'd come to this...'_ Armin thought, keeping his eyes down, not daring to look up as Mikasa came.

"Armin, are you hurt?" Mikasa kneels in front of him speaking with a soft voice. "Feeling okay?" She asks in concern.

Armin doesn't respond. Mikasa stands back up, asking, "Where's Eren?"

Armin grits his teeth.

"Armin?" Mikasa calls out.

With all the guts he had, he looks up at her with tears in his eyes. They both met eye to eye.

"Our unit... the 34th cadet unit... Thomas Wagner. Nic Tius. Mylius Zeramuski. Mina Carolina. Eren Yeager. All five of them have fulfilled their duty and died heroic deaths in battle!"

Nearly everyone looks at him in shock. Mikasa's hair shadows her eyes.

"No way..." Sasha says.

"So the 34th unit was nearly wiped out..." A cadet said.

"If we fight the Titans, we'll end up like them." Another said.

"I'm sorry, Mikasa. Eren died in my stead... I couldn't do anything! I'm so sorry!" Armin cries.

Mikasa kneels in front of him once again, this time, putting a hand over his. "Armin..." She began. "Take a deep breath." She looked at him with dull eyes. "This isn't the time to be emotional." She stands up whilst still grabbing a hold of Armin's hand.

Mikasa turns. "Marco." She calls. "If we take out the Titans around the HQ, we can replenish our gas supplies and climb the wall. Does that sound correct?"

"Yeah... but even if you're with us, there's just too many..." Marco says.

"We can do it." Mikasa says firmly. Marco looks at her in shock.

Before she could continue, a soldier started to yell out.

"THE TITANS! THEY'RE COMING!"

Catching the attention of everyone, with the sight of at least a dozen Titans closing in, they all start to panic, but not before seeing Mikasa go off on her lonesome. Everyone watches as she begins to slice through a Titan, she dashes off to her next target, but she was using lots of fuel, she'll run out before she even realizes.

Everyone scatters in the meantime as the Titans moved in. Armin follows Mikasa.

"It looks like we've got no choice... Everyone! We're heading for HQ! It's now or never!" Jean yells, everyone reluctantly follows and charge forth. As they moved through the town, many of the squad members end up getting caught and eaten. More and more Titans surround them. The more skilled members of the group manage to take down a few.

They don't know how much longer they can keep this up with the lack of gas. Many of them stood on rooftops and witnessed the horror of their squad mates screaming and getting eaten alive. The many witnesses were on their knees, they were on the verge of giving up. Many of them had already accepted death.

It wasn't until they heard the sounds of Titan bodies falling. Someone was taking out the Titans as they dropped like flies. They couldn't see who, only a white blur zooming across the field. Many of those who were caught by Titans were fortunately rescued. Everyone watched in shock as Titans were being slayed one by one.

Ten seconds... it took ten whole seconds until all the Titans in the vicinity were annihilated.

The soldiers couldn't believe their eyes. By some miracle, the Titans were all killed. All was quiet as they watched in disbelief, until the sound of a hook being shot onto the rooftops caught everyone's attention. Their supposed hero landed on the rooftop that the others where on, with his back facing them. It was another soldier like them but his clothes were tattered, he had some wounds and injuries that were visible. Titan blood and some human blood from injuries covered him, the Titan blood started to steam away at the same time.

He looked like some kind of brutish warrior who just came from the bloodiest battle.

They looked closer to see who their mystery savior was. They saw... white hair... amongst the blood that covered him, they could tell that he had white hair. They only knew of one person who had white hair like that.

The mystery soldier turns his head to the others watching. He had his left eye closed as some blood fell from his head.

"Wow, you guys are pathetic."

A long silence came.

"A-... Alex?" The first person who manged to speak was Sasha. Everyone was at a loss for words.

"Of course, how could you forget this smug face?" He chuckles.

"Alex, you... you crazy son of a badass... I so glad your here!" Connie said, holding back tears.

"I think I can speak for everyone when I say we're all glad your here." Reiner said.

"That's true... but, what exactly happened to you?" Marco said.

"Yeah, you look like you just got out of a warzone. How are you even still moving with those injuries?" Jean said.

"Just ran into a few Titans, hit my head, a few scratches, and some scrap of metal shard impaled my leg. But yeah, other than that I'm fine oddly enough. And maybe a broken arm..." Alex said.

 _'But that's not all that happened to me...'_ Alex thought. _'Dammit. Why today of all days?!'_

"H-Hey, Alex..."Said Sash breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" He responds.

"Your uh... injuries... I can look at them... I have some knowledge of medical training."

"Sure, be my guest."

She walks up to him, checking him and giving him some bandages around his head, leg, and his right arm.

"You've only dislocated your shoulder and fractured all your fingers on the right hand. I'm still amazed at how your still standing despite your injuries, that bad wound in your leg and that hit on the head should've caused a concussion."

"How are you not in pain?" Connie asks.

"Maybe the adrenaline rush within me caused me not to feel it, but I'm probably gonna feel the backlash soon enough... Thanks, Sasha, I feel a lot better already, I appreciate it." Alex beams a smile. Still keeping his left eye closed.

"I-It's uh, no problem."

"So, what are we standing around here for? Aren't we heading to HQ?" Alex asks.

"Are you crazy?! That place is overrun with Titans!" Said a cadet.

"There's no way in hell we can make it through!" Said another.

"You don't think I see that? But what chance do you have out here? If I didn't come you all would've been Titan food!" Alex suddenly outbursts, every stays quiet and listens. "We all have the same amount of chance to survive if we head to HQ or just sit here until more Titans come! Make yourselves useful! Would you die rather die for nothing or for something?! Would you rather be remembered as a hero who fought for humanity or be remembered as the coward who couldn't even stand up for themselves?! It's your choice! Was all that training for nothing?! Did you train just to be a coward or a soldier to fight the Titans?! Make up your god damned minds! Do what's right! Because I did that a long time ago!"

Alex's sudden outburst silenced everyone there.

"If you can't simply do that, than what good are you?" Alex finishes. His words hit the hearts of the many cadets and soldiers, lighting a fire in them.

"He's right..." Jean said. "Were we trained for nothing?! Many of our comrades are dying because of us! At this rate, we're going to turn out to be spineless cowards!" Jean unsheathes his blades and runs off, Connie follows.

"Now's our chance! Now that most of the Titans have been killed off, it'll be a lot easier! Now let's hurry before more come!" Alex says as he leaps off the building, charging toward HQ.

 _'I better hurry, cause the adrenaline is not gonna last long!'_ Alex thought.

"Hey! Cowards! Weaklings! Retards! Let's go!" Sasha says as she jets off too.

"They're nuts..." Said one of the cadets. "Dammit! Let's do it!" He said.

"YEAH!" They all shout in unison.

Jean, Alex and Connie led the charge for HQ, followed by the many cadets and soldiers behind them.

"Hey Jean! Where's Mikasa? I could've sworn I saw her." Alex asked.

"She went off on her own, Armin followed her too!" He replies.

"Dammit... Alright, I'm gonna go find them! You stay here!"

"Wh-What?!"

"They need a leader Jean! And I don't see anyone more capable than you!"

"I-I-I..."

"Well, see you at HQ!" Alex shoots off into another direction.

"Hey Jean! I'm gonna go with Alex!" Connie said.

"Y-You too?!"

"Make sure to hold down the fort, we're all counting on you!" Connie then leaves, following Alex.

A nervous expression was held in Jeans face as he charges toward HQ.

After a few seconds of searching, he and Connie finds Armin and Mikasa on top of a roof, both kneeling. Finally reach them, Alex says.

"Hey! What the heck happened?" Alex said.

"A-Alex?!" Armin says in shock.

"You guys alright?!" Connie asked.

"Yeah..." Mikasa responds. "What happened to you?" She asks Alex.

"Don't worry about it now, we have to get going!" Alex says as they then hear two Titans walking close by.

"Shit! This is bad! There are two 15 meter classes!" Connie said.

"No... that Titan's..." Mikasa starts as they all saw the two Titans roaring at each other, the one of them got into a fighting stance which shocked them.

The other Titan charges the 'different' Titan, but only to have it's head ripped clean off with a swing from the other Titan. The headless Titan fell and tried getting back up but the other Titan brought its feet down, crushing its nape.

"It finished the other Titan off?" Said Armin. "It knew of a Titan's weak point?"

"We must get going before it comes this way!" Connie says.

"No. It doesn't care about us. It could've attack us long ago." Armin says.

"It seemed like it had an idea of how to preform hand-to-hand combat. What was that?!" Mikasa said.

"Just consider it an abnormal!" Connie said.

"Yeah, an abnormal who only targets its own kind." Alex said.

"There's just too much we don't know. Anyway, we must hurry to the HQ!" Connie says.

"Wait! Mikasa's out of gas!" Armin said.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Connie said.

"Well that makes this situation a lot worse." Alex said.

"What are we gonna do now?!" Connie said.

"It's obvious what we need to do... I don't have much gas left... You can take mine." Armin said.

"Armin?!" Mikasa shouts.

"There's no other choice! The gas is useless on me. But please use it carefully this time. You must save everyone." Armin said. Mikasa looks at him in shock.

 _''I moved in without the determination to shoulder their lives. I even gave up on my life without realizing the responsibility I hold. And it was all due to my own issues.'_ Mikasa thought as she remembers Alex's words from before.

 _"He's right Mikasa. Everything is at stake here, don't let your selfish desires get in the way. It'll only cause more problems."_

 _'I...'_

"All right! Your maneuver gear's good to go. I gave you all my blades as well. Just leave one with me. Now that I think about it, I don't want to be eaten alive." When Armin grabs the blade, Mikasa takes it from his hand and threw it off the ledge.

"B-But..." Armin tried to speak. Mikasa put a hand on top of Armin's hand.

"Armin. I won't leave you behind." Mikasa says, helping Armin stand up. They all look to HQ.

"Well, now that everything's settled, we need to get going." Alex said.

"But what about Armin?" Connie asked.

"I'll carry him so-"

"Wait!" Armin cuts Alex off. "I've got a suggestion."

"A suggestion?" Connie questions.

"It's a three person operation, so you three should decide whether to carry it out. I know it's crazy, but... couldn't we use that Titan?" Armin says referring to the abnormal. The three looks at him in shock.

* * *

 **To Be Continued...**

 **Guess that ends this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed! Till next time!**


	4. Attack on Trost Part 2

**Heya! Welcome to the next chapter of 'The Birds of Prey'**

 **I don't know about you guys but I like giving my OCs or any fanfic that I read with a OC SI of that matter, a voice actor. It makes me feel more immersed in these stories. So if your like me and do that, then my OC, Alex's subbed voice actor would be Ryouhei Kimura, who voiced Kise Ryouta from Kuroko no Basket, Hideki Hinata from Angel Beats and Braz D. Blood from Blood Lad.**

 **Now with that out of the way, let's begin the next chapter!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4 - Attack on Trost Part 2**_

 _"What matters most is not 'what' you are, but 'who' you are."_

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

"Armin. I won't leave you behind." Mikasa says, helping Armin stand up. They all look to HQ.

"Well, now that everything's settled, we need to get going." Alex said.

"But what about Armin?" Connie asked.

"I'll carry him so-"

"Wait!" Armin cuts Alex off. "I've got a suggestion."

"A suggestion?" Connie questions.

"It's a three person operation, so you three should decide whether to carry it out. I know it's crazy, but... couldn't we use that Titan?" Armin says referring to the abnormal. The three looks at him in shock.

"That Titan?" Connie said.

"What are you getting at?" Alex asked.

"It's only attacking other Titans. It seems uninterested in humans. I was thinking of luring it to the supply tower somehow. If it handles the other Titans for us, we could get everyone out of this alive!"

"Lure it? How would we even pull that off?" Connie said.

"I think it acts on instinct. If you three defeat the Titans in its vicinity, then it'll start looking for other Titans. Most likely, it'll move towards the Titans at HQ!"

"How could we do something so risky based on a mere guess?!" Connie said.

"But if it does work, we could eliminate every Titan at HQ in one fell swoop!"

"It's at least worth a shot." Mikasa said.

"Are you serious?!" Connie said.

"If we're facing certain death either way, the path to take is the path with a chance of victory. Let's go with Armin's plan."

"You want to side with a Titan to fight against Titans?" Connie said.

"Yes. Precisely." She responds.

"You know... I thought I was the crazy one, Armin, but... I think it's worth a try." Alex said.

Connie takes a moment to think. "It won't even be funny if we fail."

"But if we succeed, everyone will be saved." Armin said.

"Make up your mind." Mikasa said before she, Armin and Alex run off.

"I get it! Dammit, I get it!" Connie follows them.

Set up on top of a building, Jean stood, as he and the others had run into more Titans along the way. Jean stood and watched in horror as he watched the many soldiers get eaten.

 _'Dammit Alex! Why'd you have to leave this to me? Am I really cut out for this? Can I handle a position with this much responsibility?'_ Jean thought as he closes his eyes but shoots them back open.

 _'No! Wait! The Titans are relatively concentrated around there. This is our chance!'_ Jean narrows his eyes and says.

"Go! Hurry to HQ while you can!" Jean shouts as he runs off, charging toward HQ. Everyone else with him, follows.

 _'It's now or never! We're finished if our gas runs out!'_ Jean thought. "Everyone! Move in!" Jean shouts.

They rushed toward HQ as fast as they could, dodging the few Titans that were in the way with the limited gas they had. They came closer and closer to HQ, a few of them managed to get caught by the Titans, but Jean kept charging in.

With the HQ building in sight, he goes and breaks through the window, followed by everyone else who survived.

 _'How many of us survived? Using the deaths of our comrades... How many died on my command?'_ Jean thought as he then spots a pair of cadets hiding under a table, he looks at them and says. "You're part of the supply squad, aren't you?!"

Jean grabs one of them by the shirt and punches him."

"Stop it, Jean!" Marco ran up to him and held him back.

"These bastards abandoned us! Do you even have a clue how many died?!" Jean shouts.

"The Titans invaded the supply depot!" The female cadet said. "What could we have done?!" She cried.

"It's your job to figure something out!" Jean said back until Reiner heard a sound.

"Take cover!" Reiner shouts. A Titan came crashing into the building, making a hole in the wall.

"Dammit!" Jean said. "There are too many people gathered here!"

Everyone panics and runs.

"Hurry! Inside!"  
"Run for your lives!"  
"Where's Alex and Mikasa?!"  
"They went off somewhere! They've probably been eaten!"

Jean watches as cadets despair and cower in fear.

 _'This is normal... This is reality, isn't it? Was I just chasing a delusional dream? I thought I knew reality. Just thinking about it, it's obvious...'_ Jean looks at the hole in the wall staring, back at two Titan faces peeking inside. _'There's no way to beat these gigantic monstrosities.'_

Then, it came in like a fist being thrown, literally. The two Titans staring into the room were knocked away by another Titan.

"What?!" Jean said in shock as he watches the new Titan that had appeared, knock away the other Titans. "What... is that?" And almost immediately after. Mikasa, Alex, Connie and Armin came busting through the window.

"Mikasa?!" Jean said.

"It's empty..." Connie said as he check his gas. "We did it! We just barely made it!"

"You're... all alive!" Jean said.

"Of course we are, who do you think I am?" Alex said.

"We did it, Armin!" Connie patted Armin's back. "Your plan as a success!"

"I didn't think that'd actually work, I should trust you more, Armin." Alex smirks.

"Everyone! That Titan's an abnormality that slaughters other Titans!" Connie said as he pointed to the said Titan outside. "It's not even interested in attacking humans! If we play our cards right, we can all get outta here alive!"

"We'd... use the Titan?" Said a cadet.

"You'd rely on a Titan's help?" Jean asked. "That's more delusional than any dream!"

"It's not a dream." Said Mikasa. "I don't care if it's an abnormal or whatever. Just let it rampage here for as long as possible. Realistically, that's our best option for survival."

While that abnormal Titan continues to rampage, the squads begin to go deeper into HQ.

"With that Titan rampaging right outside, they can't take over the building." Connie said, and talked with Reiner as they all waited for the lift.

"How much do you know about that Titan?" Reiner asked.

"Shouldn't we discuss that after we're safe?" Connie said.

"True that. Let's get out of here alive first."

Alex stood, leaning against the wall. He had spaced out with a neutral expression.

 _'It won't be long before... the other me, becomes too unstable to control...'_

 ** _'All... El-... de...mons... m...ust... die...'_**

Alex shakes his head rapidly, trying to drive the voice out of his head.

"We found some!" Jean yells as he enters the room with crates. "They're Military Police supplies, though they are covered in dust..." Jean cracks them open and was presented with rifles, he picks them up and inspects it. "Will three bullets be enough? Do these guns even work against the Titans in the first place?"

"It's better than nothing." Armin spoke. Everyone gathered around him as he planned their next move. "Even if there are still eight 3-4 meter class Titans in the supply room, blinding them all at once isn't impossible with this much firepower. First we'll use the lift to lower a large number of people into the center of the chamber. Next, they'll fire directly into the faces of all seven Titans at once. We'll blind them. The next instance will decide everything. The eight people hiding atop the rafters will match the timing of the gunfire and slash at the Titans' vitals. In other words, this plan bets everything -all our lives- on a single attack. It's a strategy that'll allow eight people to take down a Titan each, all at the same time. I'd like the eight most physically capable people to take up this task, though I apologize for burdening you guys with that responsibility."

"No worries." Reiner said.

"Regardless of who does it, if they fail, we all die. The risk is the same." Annie said.

"But is my plan really the best way to do this?" Armin doubts himself.

"Let's just go with that. There's no time anyway. It's all we've got. Now we just have to give it our best!" Marco said.

"It's better then having no plan at all, Armin. It's definitely worth a shot." Alex said.

"Don't worry. Be confident in yourself. You have the ability to seek out the right answers. Eren and I have been saved by that ability in the past." Mikasa said as Armin looks at her in shock.

"What? When?" Armin begins to question but everything was ready to go.

"Lift is ready! So are the guns! They're all loaded!"

Everyone begins to stand up and prep themselves.

"You don't realize it. Let's talk later." Mikasa said.

"Okay." Armin nods.

Everyone got into their positions, the selected eight people took the stairs down to the supply room.

"But are we gonna be able to take down the Titans without three-dimensional maneuvering devices?" Connie said.

"Of course. They're only 3 and 4 meter class Titans. Their vitals will be easy to target." Reiner said.

"Yeah, we just need to slash the nape from top to bottom, regardless of their size." Jean said.

"One meter long, ten centimeters wide!" Sasha said.

"Or maybe I can just stick these up their asses, their one other weakness." Alex said.

"I had no idea. That's an option too?!" Connie said.

"I didn't know until know either." Sasha said.

"Watch out Alex, those could be your last words." Jean said.

"When have I ever lied?" Alex said. "I've actually done it before, and let me tell you-"

"I think we get it! No need to go into detail!" Jean shouts as he tries to push the mental image away.

"Okay, okay, I guess that's a story for another time."

"Wait, you're actually serious?" Reiner asked Alex.

"Yeah. I was... caught up in the moment."

"I... don't even want to know what happened." Reiner responds.

"Agreed." Annie spoke up.

"Awww! Come on guys! It's not as bad as it sounds!"

About eight, 3-4 meter class Titans roamed through the supply room. The lift carrying the gunners lowered.

"It's good. There are still on eight here." Marco said. Everyone locked and loaded, pointing their guns in the direction of the Titans.

"We'll stick to the plan." Marco said, many, if not, all the cadets were extremely nervous.

One of the Titans walked closely by. When it came in front of the lift, it turned revealing its creepy smiling face as it stared into the soldiers faces. One of them panicked.

"Calm down!" Marco said. "Let them get closer!" The Titan began to walk toward the lift whilst the eight other people waited atop the rafters.

 _'We can't afford to lose our advantage.'_ Reiner thought.

 _'Not if we want everyone to survive.'_ Bertolt thought.

 _'We'll decide it with a single blow.'_ Connie thought.

 _'It all comes down to this.'_ Alex thought.

"Wait..." Marco said as the Titans grew much closer. "Ready..." At this point, the Titans are right in front of the barrel of the gun. "Fire!"

They all shoot their guns, blinding the Titans. The others jumped off the rafters above, each of them taking down one target, but... two of the eight were unsuccessful in hitting their mark. Sasha and Connie missed.

"U-Um, I apologize for sneaking up behind you so suddenly..." Sasha said.

"Oh no." Connie said.

The Titans begin to make their way toward both of them.

"Sahsa and Connie need help!" Bertolt said.

"Hurry, cover them!" Jean shouts.

Both Sasha and Connie begin to fear for their life as they seemingly stare death in the face. Sasha manages to roll away from the Titan, looking back, she then saw Alex jump in, slashing the nape of the Titan and saving her. Mikasa took care of the other Titan that Connie missed.

"Alex! You saved me!" Sasha said.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked.

"Yes, thanks to you!"

"That's good. But there's no time for a sit down, we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

"Thanks a lot." Connie said to Mikasa.

"No problem." Mikasa responds.

"We got all of them! Start filling up your gas tanks." Jean said to the guys on the lift. Their faces brighten up, things have finally started to look up. Everyone quickly got their gas tanks filling up.

"Yeah, we're saved now!"  
"No more Titans are coming back!"  
"It's thanks to that Abnormal's rampage!"

Alex sat alone as he filled his gas.

 _'Alone once again.'_

 ** _'They'll never accept you...'_**

 _'...'_

 ** _'You'll always be alone...'_**

 _'Shut up.'_

 ** _'When they find out what you really are, they'll stab you in the back...'_**

 _'I won't let that happen. I'll lie to keep it that way.'_

 ** _'Hehehe, always lying to yourself, aren't you? The more you do it, the more you hurt yourself and your so called friends. You aren't as strong as people make you up to be. It's just the opposite, y_** ** _ou're scared aren't you? Afraid of other peoples judgement. Afraid of being alone. Heh, you're pathetic.'_**

 _'Just shut up! Don't tell me what to do! You're just a figment of my imagination!'_

 ** _'Oh Alex... You know I won't be going anywhere, any time soon. After all. I'm you, aren't I? I'll always be by your side. And what good will it do to you if I'm gone? You're going to become normal? That's funny, because many people don't seem to see you as normal. Without me, you're nothing... you're not who you think you really are, Alex.'_**

 _'What happened in the past stays in the past! I had no choice, I did what I had to do!'_

 ** _'No, no, no, I think you misunderstood me... I'm talking about something else... something much bigger then the two of us, much bigger then the Titans themselves in fact...'_**

 _'What are you talking about?'_

 ** _'Oops! I might've said too much already... but don't worry, you'll come to understand, eventually.'_** He disappears.

 _'...He's wrong... he doesn't exist... I'm... Alexander Falkner... member of the 104th Trainee Corps... but- no!... don't let him get to your head.'_

Alex shakes his head and snaps out of his thoughts as he finishes filling up his gas tanks, he starts to wander around the supply room, waiting for the others. Once everyone was done willing up their gas tanks, they all made their way to the walls. But as many of the cadets went on, Mikasa stood atop one of the buildings looking at something. Armin went up to speak with her.

"Mikasa! We need to leave now!"

"That Titan..." She started. Armin follows her gaze and is shocked by what he sees.

That same Abnormal Titan that only targeted its own kind was being eaten by other Titans.

"Cannibalism? It can't regenerate?" Armin said.

"I thought that if we could solve the mystery of that Titan somehow, it'd become a chance to pull ourselves out of this hopeless reality." Mikasa said.

"I agree." Said a voice from behind the two. They turn around to see Reiner, the source of the voice. As well as Annie, Bertolt, Alex, and Jean.

"If it gets devoured, we'll be as clueless as ever. Let's take out the Titans clinging to it and keep it alive for now." Reiner continued.

"Are you serious, Reiner?!" Jean said. "We can finally get out of this hellhole, you know!"

"But there's a chance that Titan could become our ally. Don't you think it'd be greater weapon than any cannon?" Annie said.

"An ally?" Jean questioned. "Do you hear what you're saying?"

Armin's attention was then turned to another Titan that approached. "That's... the Abnormal that ate Thomas."

The rouge Titan then began to rampage once again, roaring as it moves, despite the other Titans that clinged onto it. It ran up to the Titan, losing both its arm in the process and chomped at the neck of the Titan that ate Thomas.

Everyone watched in shock, all at a loss for words.

The rouge Titan used the Titan it bit into as a weapon, swinging its body around, still in the grips of its mouth. After taking out all of the other Titans in the surrounding area, it dropped the Titan in its mouth and roared into the sky.

"Hey... You want to save that?" Jean said.

That Titan then fell onto its knees and collapsed.

"Looks like it finally ran out of gas. We're done here, right? Time to go." Jean said, turning around. "There's no way that monster could be an ally. A Titan is a Titan." Jean comments before taking another glance at the others, noticing that they were all still starting at the rampaging Titan.

"What now?" Jean said, turning his attention back.

Looking back over at the Titan, steam began to emit from its body and trail into the sky. But upon closer inspection, they saw a small opening in the nape. It looked as though a person was in there, and slowly a person did emerge.

Everyone watched in shock as a person had just came out of the nape of a Titan, but, it wasn't just any other person. It was...

 _'...Eren...?'_ Alex had thought and no second sooner, Mikasa jumps down from the roof and makes her way toward him.

"Mikasa?!" Armin shouts but she ignores him and continues running. She ran and jumped onto the carcass of the Titan body. Hugging the body of Eren, she places a head on his chest ans hears his heart beat. Then she starts to cry. Mikasa cried. Something no one thought was possible.

Armin and the others jumped down with Mikasa. No one said a word. Not one sound. It was quiet. They had all moved up to the top of HQ. Mikasa still kept Eren in her arms, still weeping. Armin then gabbed one of Eren's hand and started to cry.

 _'Just what in the world happened...?'_ Alex thought.

Everyone else, other then Mikasa and Armin looked over to where the decaying bodies of all the defeated Titans lay.

"Does that mean Eren did all this?" Jean muttered.

* * *

 **To be continued...**

 **And that's a wrap for this chapter. Not much to talk about in this chapter, only subtle hints and small revelations to Alex's character as well as the fact that Alex has a split personality disorder and is going through an identity crisis whilst in the middle of a battle.**

 **A special thank you to those who've reviewed, favorited, and followed this story, I really appreciate it!**

 **Comments and reviews are always appreciated.**

 **I guess that does it for now, 'till next time folks!**


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